Golf ball dispenser

ABSTRACT

A golf ball dispenser (1) has a fixed tee (21) onto which a ball is placed by an arm (24). The arm (24) moves in a vertical direction being below the level of the tee during play. Downward arm movement for placement is damped by a motor (26) to ensure repeatable secure placement. A vibration sensor (30) detects striking of the ball and a controller (27) then initiates the next placement. The dispenser (1) is simple, reliable and easy to use.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a golf ball dispenser for the placement of golfballs onto a tee in a golf driving range.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such golf bail dispensers are described in British patent specificationNo. GB-A-2 061 737 (Eberle), U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,213 (Bradley) andEuropean patent specification No. EP-Al-0 002 921 (Loof). In the Britishspecification, a golf ball trough is described which is movable through90° and it holds golf balls replenished from a hopper. At the end of thetrough there is a pivotal head which is urged to a detent position by asmall weight. Movement of the head changes gaps at the end of the troughto allow dispensing of a golf ball onto a tee. In the United Statesspecification, a reciprocating tee assembly is described and there is asupport platform for the golfer. In the European specification, there isan elevated magazine and a rotatable carrier which is balanced so that aball deposited in a receptacle on the carrier causes the arm to pivotunder the weight of the ball to deliver a ball to a tee. Thesemechanisms appear to suffer from the disadvantages that they arerelatively complex in operation and it appears that they would not beparticularly reliable in accurate placement of a ball on a tee over along period of time. Another disadvantage is that it is necessary forthe golfer to actuate the mechanism in order to cause a ball to beplaced on the tee.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,537 describes a dispensing mechanism in which thereis a gravitational feed to a ball dispenser operated by a pedal pressedby the golfer when a ball is desired. A deflector bar, a depression, astop plate, and a spring-biased rocker arm cause the ball to enter atransit groove on further depression of the pedal by the golfer. Theball then reaches a further depression having an orifice which isblocked by the ball. Resulting positive pressure in an air supplythrough the orifice is an indication of presence of the ball, causing atee to move upwardly with the ball to a playing position. In summary,therefore, ball placement is initiated by the golfer, (by depressing thepedal) and tee control is in response to pressure detection. It appearsthat this arrangement is quite complex as it involves use of many movingparts.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,131 a teeing device is described which isoperated by the golfer pressing a pedestal. A cable, pulley and pivotarm assembly operate to cause a receiver move upwardly in a suddenaction, propelling a ball into a track. This track communicates with asecond track which pivots in a vertical plane, and when in an operativeposition allows the ball to roll into a seat having a diameter greaterthan the ball, thus allowing it to drop onto a tee. The second trackthen pivots upwardly out of the way. Again, this device appears to bequite complex and thus difficult to manufacture and maintain. Further,it appears that the device may not be particularly effective as the ballmust drop--albeit a short distance--onto the tee.

In U.S. Pat. 5,096,200 a teeing machine is disclosed which has acomplicated mechanism terminating in a ball-carrying arm rotating in ahorizontal plane. An infra-red sensor detects if a ball is on the tee,apparently as a check that the machine has operated correctly. U.S. Pat.No. 3,901,515 describes a teeing mechanism in which mircoswitches andmotors are used for control of dispensing a ball onto a track and formovement of a tee platform between lower and upper positions. When aball is struck, the tee platform is balanced so that it tilts to asecond position contacting a microswitch which causes a motor to allowthe platform to drop. While this mechanism is somewhat simpler than muchof the other prior art mechanisms, it does require a quite complex teesupport platform device. Further, the arrangement for sensing when aball has been struck relies on balancing of the platform and correctoperation of a microswitch and motor and associated electrical andmechanical components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards providing an improved golfball dispenser which is of relatively simple construction. A furtherobject is that the dispenser be reliable in operation over a long periodof time. Another object is that the dispenser be versatile and that itmay be used as a portable, stand-alone unit or alternatively as part ofan integrated system. A still further object of the invention is thatthe dispenser be more convenient for use by the golfer.

According to the invention, there is provided a golf ball dispenser fora driving range tee comprising:

a ball storage container;

a placement means for reception of a ball from the storage container andbringing the ball to a rest position adjacent to the end of theplacement means; and

a controller comprising means for directing relative movement of theplacement means and the tee allowing the ball no be placed on the teeand separating the placement means and the ball to expose the ball foruse; characterised in that,

the placement means comprises an arm which is movable in a substantiallyvertical direction to place a ball on the tee during a downwardmovement.

By placing the ball in this simple downward action, the dispenser mayhave a simple design and performs reliably.

In one embodiment, the dispenser further comprises a detector connectedto the controller for detecting presence of a ball on the tee, and thecontroller further comprises a means for automatically directingplacement of a fresh ball on the tee after a ball has been struck offthe tee as sensed by the detector. This allows automatic placement sothat the next ball may be placed while the player prepares for the nextshot.

The detector may be a vibration sensor mounted to detect vibration ofthe tee. This is a particularly reliable arrangement in which falsetrigger signals are unlikely. The vibration sensor may be mounted on asupport plate for the tee.

The controller preferably comprises a pulse timer connected to thevibration sensor. This is an effective way of discriminating outputsignals.

The detector may alternatively be a radiation sensor such as an opticalsensor. Such sensors are widely available and inexpensive. in anotherembodiment, the controller comprises means for directing movement of thearm to a lower inoperative position beneath the level of a golf matafter placement, a ball placement cycle involving upward arm movement,receiving a ball, followed by said downward movement to the inoperativeposition. This arrangement is very simple as there is a simple up-downcycle of arm movement.

The arm may be actuated by a motor, which may comprise a current limitercomponent for damping downward movement of the arm. This helps to ensurereliable placement.

In another embodiment, the storage container comprises a storage chute,the arm being movable into registry with the chute for reception of theball under control of a main barrier. The main barrier may be mounted onthe arm and move with it. In a further embodiment, the dispensercomprises an auxiliary barrier mounted to prevent delivery of more thanone ball at one time to the arm from the storage chute wherein theauxiliary barrier is mounted on the arm and moves with it. These areextremely simple arrangements.

According to another aspect, the invention provides a golf balldispenser comprising:

a ball storage container;

a placement means for receiving a ball from the storage container andplacing the ball on a fixed tee; and

a controller for directing operation of the placement means;characterised in that, the dispenser further comprises a golf balldetector connected to the controller for detecting presence of a ball onthe fixed tee, and the controller further comprises a means forautomatically directing placement of a fresh ball on the fixed tee whena ball has been struck off the tee.

Because the detector is provided to detect a ball on a fixed tee, it maybe quite simple and may easily operate reliably. If the tee weremovable, the movement and different positions, possibly causingvibrations, could cause false signals to be outputted.

In one embodiment, the detector may comprise a vibration sensor mountedon a support for the tee. In one embodiment, the vibration sensor isconnected to a pulse timer circuit in the controller, the controllercomprising means for directing placement upon detection of a pre-setnumber of pulses.

Preferably, the placement means comprises an arm which is movable in asubstantially vertical direction to place a ball on the tee during adownward movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdescription of some embodiments thereof given by way of example onlywith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above showing a golf ball dispenser ofthe invention without its container;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the dispenser with its container;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing an alternative construction ofball storage container;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are side and front views respectively showing thedispenser in an inoperative position;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are side and front views respectively showing thedispenser during operation; and

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a controller of the dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a golf ball dispenser of theinvention, indicated generally by the reference 1. The dispenser 1includes a ball storage container 20 which has an upper portion 2 havinga ball rollway 3 for delivering golf balls under gravity feed into alower portion 4 having an outlet 5. The lower portion 4 houses thedispenser's mechanism.

The dispenser 1 also comprises a golf tee 21 mounted on a base plate 22of the dispenser. For reception of balls from the storage container 20,there is a storage chute 23 from which a golf ball is delivered onto anarm 24 which is movable in the vertical direction on a support 25. Theend of the arm 24 forms a curved seat for a golf ball and surrounds thegolf tee 21 when the arm 24 is in a lower, inoperative position.Movement of the arm 24 in the vertical direction is caused by a motor 26controlled by to a controller 27. The motor 26 drives a flywheel 28which drives a connecting rod 29, which in turn moves the support 25 inthe vertical direction.

Power for the motor 26 and for the controller 27 may be provided by abattery 31 shown by interrupted lines in FIG. 1, or alternatively by amains supply. As shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 to 7 inclusive, thesupport 25 has an aperture 35 which is movable into registry with theend of the storage chute 23 when the support 25 is in an upper position.A main barrier for the chute 23 comprises a rod 36 which is shown mostclearly in FIG. 5. This prevents discharge of balls from the chute 23onto the arm 24 when the support 25 is in the lower, inoperativeposition. An auxiliary barrier 37 is also mounted on the support 25, thefunction of which is to prevent more than one ball from being deliveredonto the arm 24 an any one time.

An important part of the dispenser 1 is a vibration sensor 30 which ismounted on the plate 22 for detection of vibration of the golf tee 21caused by hitting a golf ball. The sensor 30 is of the type fordetecting vibration of a door or window in an alarm system.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a circuit diagram is shown for the controller27 and for various electrical parts which it is connected. Parts similarto those described with reference to the previous drawings areidentified by the same reference numerals. There is a microswitch 40which is mounted for detection of movement of the support 25 to itsupper position. A 100 KOhm resistor R6 is provided to ensure that themicroswitch does not "burn out" by heat generation. The controller 27comprises a pulse timer 41 which receives inputs from the vibrationsensor 30 and the microswitch 40. A 12V supply to the -T pin allows thesensor 30 to operate in the closed position. The output at pin 6 of thepulse timer 41 is connected to a switch circuit 42 having a transistor43 connected to a relay 44. Output terminals 45 of the swatch circuit 42are connected to the motor 26. A 47 micro Farad delay capacitor isconnected to the microswitch contact T4 to ensure that spurious signalsare not transmitted to the timer 41 to indicate prematurely that a ballis required.

Instead of the ball storage container 20, the dispenser of the inventionmay have a spiral storage container such as that indicated by thenumeral 50 in FIG. 3. The container 50 comprises a cylindrical support51, around which a chute 52 is mounted in a spiral arrangement. Golfballs 53 are shown rolling in the chute 52 under gravity feed.

In operation, the dispenser 1 is mounted in a driving range bay in anarrangement whereby the arm 24 is recessed below the level of the golfmat when in the inoperative position, as shown in FIG. 2. The dispenser1 is, of course, mounted on the opposite side of the tee 21 from wherethe golfer is to stand. The dispenser may operate on a stand-alonebasis, or it may be integrated into a larger system in which case thequantity of balls dispensed may be centrally controlled.

Golf balls are delivered from the storage container 20 into the storagechute 23. The balls cannot roll from the storage chute 23 because thebarrier 36 is in place. When the controller 27 is activated, the motor26 is activated to rotate the flywheel 28 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 1. When the flywheel 28 rotates, it moves the arm support25 in the vertical direction until the microswitch 40 detects thesupport 25 reaching its upper position by changing to a closed state,thus transmitting a pulse to the pulse timer 41 to re-set it. Thiscauses the motor 26 to be shut off at the position where the aperture 35is in registry with the storage chute 23. As shown most clearly in FIGS.6 and 7, while the main barrier 36 is out of the way, the auxiliarybarrier 37 prevents the second and all subsequent balls from rolling inthe storage chute 23. The first ball which was in the storage chute 23then rolls down the arm 24 as shown in FIGS. 6 until it reaches thecurved seat provided at the end of the arm 24. The ball is thenpositioned directly above the tee 21. When the motor shuts off, theflywheel 28 rotates in the anti-clockwise direction in a manner whichprovides a braking force for the arm 24 to prevent it falling undergravity. This damping is caused by a diode on the contacts of the motor25 which acts as a current limiter. The slow downward movement of thearm 24 allows the ball 53 to reach the end of the arm 24 and also allowsthe ball to be placed securely on the tee 21 as the arm 24 movesdownwardly.

The golfer then strikes the ball 53 from the tee 21, thus causing thetee 21 to vibrate to some extent. This vibration is detected by thevibration sensor 30. Pulses transmitted from the vibration sensor 30 aretimed by the timer 41 which outputs a signal on the pin P6 if sufficientvibrations are detected. This signal turns on the transistor 43 which inturn pulls the relay 44, thus allowing a 12 Volt DC supply no be appliedto the motor contacts 45. This activates the motor to rotate theflywheel 28 in a clockwise direction to repeat the cycle. Thus, by thetime the golfer has taken his stance for the next shot a ball is inplace on the tee without any input from the golfer being required.

Another significant advantage of the invention is that a conventionaldriving range tee is used. It will be appreciated that vertical movementof the arm 24 between upper and lower positions is extremely simple andthe dispenser would thus be very reliable in use. It will also beappreciated that the arrangement provided for allowing discharge ofballs onto the arm 24 is extremely simple as both the main and auxiliarybarriers are mounted on the support 25 for the arm 24, all parts thusmoving together. This allows use of only a single actuator, in thisembodiment the motor 26. These features of the invention are extremelyimportant as the major requirements of an automatic teeing device arelow cost and reliability. Indeed, the inventors believe that complexityand apparent lack of reliability of the prior art devices explain whythey have not gained widespread use.

It will also be appreciated that use of a detector to detect striking ofa golf ball avoids the need for the golfer to have to actuate themechanism each time he or she wishes to strike a new ball. Because thetee is fixed in position, relatively simple ball detectors such as avibration sensor (as in the embodiment described) or a radiation sensorof any suitable type may be used reliably. This feature also leads tolow-cost production and also to improved reliability in operation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described.For example, it is envisaged that a different detector may be used fordetecting when a ball has been struck. For example, the detector maycomprise a radiation sensor such as an ultrasonic, optical, or indeed anelectro-magnetic sensor. Because the detector need only detect ballpresence on a fixed tee, a wide range of simple and inexpensivedetectors may be used reliably. However, a vibration sensor isparticularly advantageous because it is very unlikely to transmit afalse signal and because its associated circuitry is inexpensive andreliable.

In another embodiment, it is envisaged that the arm may not move to aposition below the level of the mat after placement. It may, forexample, have an opening at the end of the arm to allow it to movesidewardly out of the way. It is also envisaged that a differentactuator may be used for moving the arm, such as a pneumatic or anhydraulic system. It is also possible than the arm may hold more thanone ball at a time and may indeed act as a chute in which eachsuccessive ball moves into position after the first ball has been placedon the tee.

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf ball dispenser in combination with a teefor a driving range comprising:a ball storage container; a placementmeans for reception of a ball from the storage container and bringing aball to rest position adjacent to an end of the placement means saidplacement means comprising an arm extending in a substantiallyhorizontal direction and drive means for moving said arm in asubstantially vertical direction in a linear motion to place a ball onthe tee during a downward movement; and a controller comprising meansfor directing relative movement of the placement means to the teeallowing a ball to be placed on the tee and separating the placementmeans and a ball to expose a ball for use.
 2. A dispenser as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising a detector connected to the controller fordetecting striking of a ball from the tee, and the controller furthercomprises a means for automatically directing placement of a fresh ballon the tee after a ball has been struck off the tee as sensed by thedetector.
 3. A dispenser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the detector isa vibration sensor mounted to detect vibration of the tee.
 4. Adispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the detector is mounted on asupport plate for the tee.
 5. A dispenser as claimed in claim 3 whereinthe controller comprises a pulse timer connected to the vibrationsensor.
 6. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controllercomprises means for directing movement of the arm to a lower inoperativeposition beneath a level of a golf mat after placement of a ball,whereby a ball placement cycle involves an upward arm movement,receiving a ball from the ball storage container, followed by saiddownward movement to place the ball on the tee and to reach theinoperative position.
 7. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedrive means includes a motor.
 8. A dispenser as claimed in claim 7,wherein the motor comprises a current limiter component for dampingdownward movement of the arm.
 9. A dispenser as claimed in precedingclaim 1 wherein the storage container comprises a storage chute, the armbeing movable into registry with the chute for reception of the ballunder control of a main barrier.
 10. A dispenser as claimed in claim 9wherein the main barrier is mounted on the arm and moves with it.
 11. Adispenser as claimed in claim 9, further comprising an auxiliary barriermounted to prevent delivery of more than one ball at one time to the armfrom the storage chute.
 12. A dispenser as claimed in claim 11 whereinthe auxiliary barrier is mounted on the arm and moves with it.